Story at a glance
- A 100-day moratorium on deportation flights imposed by the Biden administration was halted, making an exception for serious cases.
- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported at least 72 people to Haiti on Feb. 7, according to a report from the Guardian.
- Haiti is in the midst of political turmoil as the U.S.-backed Haitian president refuses to leave office.
One day before President Biden’s 100-day moratorium on all deportations resumed, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported at least 72 people to Haiti on Feb. 7, according to the Guardian.
The two flights left from Texas to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where the U.S.-backed Haitian president has refused to leave office, triggering a political crisis. On Jan. 26, U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton, a Trump appointee, placed a 14-day injunction against the moratorium, which he later extended to Feb. 23, based on a federal contract with the state made by the Trump administration.
America is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news.
“I fear for the kids being sent into the middle of this uprising. It’s as if there is a house burning, and instead of taking people out for their own safety the United States is sending defenseless babies into the burning house,” Guerline Jozef, executive director of the immigration support group the Haitian Bridge Alliance, told the Guardian.
Immigration watchdog Witness at the Border has estimated that the agency has chartered 52 flights since Inauguration day and 81 since the beginning of the year, as the Trump administration began speeding up deportations. ICE has been criticized for breaking with the Biden administration, whose appointee, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, was confirmed on Feb. 2. Days later, the agency canceled a deportation flight to west Africa because of allegations of brutality by ICE agents, according to a statement to the Guardian.
READ MORE LIKE THIS FROM CHANGING AMERICA
WHAT COMES NEXT FOR THE YOUNG IMMIGRANTS IMPACTED BY SCOTUS RULING ON DACA
LAWMAKERS BATTLE OVER CALLING PEOPLE ‘UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS’ OR ‘ILLEGAL ALIENS’
IMMIGRATION JUDGES ARE QUITTING AND RETIRING EARLY DUE TO JOB STRESS
SOUTH SUDANESE REFUGEE TURNS HARROWING EXPERIENCE INTO REMARKABLE NEW VIDEO GAME
HOW IS IBM’S WATSON FIGHTING AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING?
Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
